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27 out of 29 people found the following review useful:
Still a very powerful and impressive film., 11 December 2002
Author: Infofreak from Perth, Australia

Paul Schrader's celebrated collaborations with Martin Scorsese will unfortunately always overshadow his own directorial efforts. His own movies have been variable to say the least ranging from the truly forgettable (e.g. 'Light Of Day' and 'Witch Hunt', both from the "what on earth was he thinking?!" category), to the truly unforgettable ('Mishima', and 'Light Sleeper', both sadly overlooked). 'Hardcore' is one of his best efforts in my opinion, but MUST be watched taking into consideration WHEN it was made, and the censorship prevalent at the time (something a few of the other comments here fail to do). Over twenty years later certain scenes seem way too tame and almost unintentionally humorous to our jaded "sophisticated" movie-going eyes, but even so to me overall it is still a very powerful and impressive film. And for those who think it too dated and "safe" just compare it to Schumacher's lame '8MM', a movie which is almost an uncredited remake of 'Hardcore' in some ways, but one that despite the relaxation in depicting sex, violence and profanity in mainstream moviemaking, fails to pack the punch that Schrader's movie does. 'Dr Strangelove's George C. Scott is solid as a straight-laced and in many ways unworldly man who finds himself in the alien (to him) urban world of sleazy strip joints, sex shops and pornography. Season Hubley (John Carpenter's 'Elvis') plays the streetwise hooker who becomes his guide. Peter Boyle ('Taxi Driver', 'Young Frankenstein')) is a stand out as a crafty low life private detective. Buffs will also get a kick out of small roles by Tracey Walter ('Repo Man') and Ed Begley Jr ('Meet The Applegates') as a clerk in a dirty book store and a porn actor respectively. 'Hardcore' is a very fine movie, one of the most underrated of the 1970s, and highly recommended viewing.

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20 out of 24 people found the following review useful:
An overlooked classic, 23 May 1999
Author: Jack Brown from Corpus Christi, Texas

Paul Schrader, who wrote and directed this film, also wrote the screenplay for "Taxi Driver"; both films were tips of the hat to the classic western, "The Searchers".

The excellent performances by George C. Scott and Peter Boyle are nowhere more apparent than in the scene where Boyle shows the porno flick starring Scott's daughter; he almost has a sadistic gleam in his eye as George C. Scott grips the arms of the chair and screams, "Turn it off... turn it off!!!".

Christians who complain that their faith is often ridiculed by Hollywood should see this movie, in spite of its disturbing subject matter. Scott deftly portrays a man whose religious convictions motivate him into risking his life for his daughter's sake. (Ironically, it may be those same convictions which drove his daughter from him in the first place.)

The only real drawback to this movie was that the "snuff film" element was not really necessary to create a sense of urgency. The urgency was captured perfectly in the "turn it off!" scene; there was really no need for a contrived life-or-death situation. Other than that, "Hardcore" is a gritty, brutal and poignant story.

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23 out of 32 people found the following review useful:
A great underrated classic film from Schrader; One of George C. Scott's greatest performances, 9 January 2001

Author: Aw-komon from Los Angeles, CA

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

In the late '70s Schrader used to make films almost as great as Scorsese's. "Blue Collar" and "Hardcore" are both fantastically realistic and ambiguous, simultaneously horrifying and funny. So, what happened? Except for Nick Nolte's performance (which as good as it was, is easily topped by George C. Scott's amazing one here), nothing in Schrader's recent "Affliction" is anywhere near the level of "Hardcore," which ususally gets only a ridiculouly low 2 stars from critics.

The great thing about "Hardcore" is that it doesn't cheat on reality by having stereotypical characters or idiotic "Magnolia-like" cynical cartoons running around like aliens from another planet pretending to be portraying people on this one. Scott's character is often made to look so absurd, walking around preaching rigid Calvinist ethics to hookers, you can't help but sympathize for his girl having run away. Even making a living in cheap porno films can be seen as preferable to having to put up with a father like Scott. When Scott beats up "Jism Jim" in the shower for having unknowingly made a hateful remark about his daughter's sexual hunger and wildness when performing fellatio, you can't help but feel the real reason for Scott's anger. Scott erupts so volcanically because he can't imagine his 'pure' daughter being so "staved" for sexual attention that she'd be willing to go that wild for a degenerate like "Jism Jim." It's reality that hits him in the face like a cold slap; the fact of his having repressed his daughter all these years into a 'nice girl' and of her having had secret desires that had gone unsatisfied or without even a hope of being satisfied under the repressed conditions which she lived. Nevertheless, the ending is definitely NOT a happy one as some people suggest; it is a highly ambiguous one. After telling her father that she wasn't forced to do what she did, and that she did it because she chose and wanted to do it, she nevertheless decides that the sleazy, dangerous world she's caught up in is not where she'd like to find her happiness, and goes back with her father FOR THE TIME BEING. This does not mean that she's decided to go back to what she was before, but that she's intelligent enough to know that she has to strike a balance between the two extremes. So, in a sense, it is a happy ending, if you can imagine that from now on her father will let her live a freer life, and that she'll be able to assert herself and be independent. However, that is anything but certain, and she might end up having to run away again. But if George C. Scott has learned anything in his misadventures in the world of low-rent porn and prostitution, it is to be less judgemental and more sympathetic to people and will have to strike a balance himself. In the end he has come to care enough for 'fallen people,' to want to also help the hooker Nicky, who helped him find his daughter, but for whom it seems to be too late.

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16 out of 19 people found the following review useful:
Brutally honest, disturbing drama, 5 February 1999

Author: chez-3 from Chicago, Il

George C. Scott gives one of his best performances as a respected, religious, businessman who sees his daughter off for a church camp and is shocked when she turns up missing. His search leads him to the seedy world of pornography where scummy private detective Peter Boyle finds her in a porno movie. The search leads on as Scott enlists the aid of a hooker.

A moving, powerful look at morality and the wrong turns some of us take - whether we know it or not.

This is a great drama save for an abrupt conclusion (writer/director Paul Shrader also abruptly ended his equally superb "Blue Collar") that is not for those easily offended.

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13 out of 17 people found the following review useful:
Dated but still effectively powerful film, 3 June 2004

Author: sol from Brooklyn NY USA

****SPOILERS**** George C. Scott, Jake Van Dorn, gives one of his best acting performances in "Hardcore". It's every bit as good as his role in "Patton" in this modern day version of the great John Ford Western "The Searchers" as the distraught and angry father searching for his missing and runaway daughter Kristen, Llah Davis.

Powerful and riveting film builds up to a fever pitch as Jake goes into the bowels of hell in his desperate and emotional quest for his daughter in the dangerous and sleazily world of the legal as well as illegal porn industry. The scene, in an empty and darkened porno theater, where Jake was shown by private investigator Andy Mast, Peter Boyle, a clip of his daughter preforming sex acts on the screen was so powerful that it made you forget that you were actually watching a movie, not the real thing. An unsuspecting Jake, who had never seen a porno film before, went from bewilderment shock outrage and then became sickened and nauseated by what he saw, all this in just under two minutes of screen time, ranks right up there with the greatest and most unforgettable moments in motion picture history!

Jake ends up finding his daughter but she was emotionally destroyed not only by the porno world that she was living in and was part off but also by her detachment and alienation from her very religious father's feelings for her. Jake is also faced with the fact that the world outside of his small and cloistered community in Grand Rapids Michigan is as different as the Earth is from the planet Pluto.

After Jake's daughter Kristen disappeared from a trip with her classmates and members of the local Dutch Reformation Church Jake with the help of private investigator Andy Mast and local L.A hooker and part time porno actress Niki, Season Hubley, track her down in the red-light district of San Francisco. Jake is then shocked to find out that she left him because of his possessiveness and restrictions that he had on her and the friends that she choose.

Even though the movie "Hardcore" is now a bit dated and the ending is a bit too pat and contrived in order for it to pull all the loose ends in the movie together and give the film a happy ending George C. Scott's Academy Award caliber acting in the film is good enough to make you overlook the movies many faults.

Both Peter Boyle and Llah Davis are also very effective as the hired PI and Jake's missing daughter. I feel that the most sensitive as well as tragic acting in the film, on par with Mr. Scott, was that of Season Hubley, Niki, as the hooker who lead Jake to, in the end, find his daughter. Feeling that she had a chance of, with the help of Jake, leaving the life that she had in the porno world Niki sadly learned in the end of the movie that hope was nothing but a pipe dream. Knowing her helpless situation Niki sadly accepted the reality of her life in it. I feel that Jake's very emotional and truly touching final scene with Niki was far more gripping and heart-wrenching then the final scene that Jake had with his daughter Kristen and almost as good as the scene of Jake in the theater when he broke down from watching Kristen in a porno movie.

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20 out of 31 people found the following review useful:
Powerful, But A Tough Movie To Watch, 25 June 2006

Author: ccthemovieman-1 from United States

This is an extremely sordid movie, but one you never forget. I saw it in the theater almost 20 years ago and it was shocking then, so much so that I've only seen it once since and have no desire to see it again. It just left such a bad taste in my mouth.

This is a frightening picture of the pornography business 20 years ago featuring about everything you can think of in that seedy world. Unfortunately, the story centers around finding a girl from a "religious" family and the father, played by George C. Scott, is painted as something of a fanatic. He's portrayed as a cold and violent figure. (Hey, Hollywood isn't going to portray a Christian father as kind and loving.) Yet, Scott is not all that bad because he still is extremely dedicated father who went to all lengths to get his daughter back.

This movie really shows the sleazy side of the entire porno business and, thankfully, it doesn't glamorize any of it. Peter Boyle is good as the detective and Season Hubley is interesting as the prostitute who gives you her ideas on life in the business. This is a fascinating film in parts but also very tough to view in a number of areas. This may sound naive, but when I saw this in 1979, I was stunned that this type of sick-underbelly of a society existed....at least to this degree. I can't imagine what's out there today.

In summary, a very powerful but brutal movie to watch, especially if you have kids of your own.

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13 out of 19 people found the following review useful:
Hit me "Hard", even though I wasn't yet a father, 27 September 1999
Author: Kurt W from Norcross, GA USA

Now that George C. Scott has passed away, many of my on-line acquaintances were citing selections from the movie "Patton" as their favorite on-screen quotes from the late actor.

My personal favorite, however, comes from what was the turning point of Scott's character in this movie. I pitied what Jake Van Dorn saw (then couldn't bear to see) as he watched his daughter coupling with the stringy-haired porn actor. Then I pitied him more as he unsuccessfully tried to crash the porn world in search of his only child. Finally, Scott made Van Dorn's final desperation palpable as he sat in the dimly lit motel room, head in his hands (although the toupee WAS hilarious) after "interviewing" the parade of hapless "actors" and "actresses".

When Van Dorn raises his tired eyes to see that the individual who just entered his room is the stringy-haired actor ("Jism Jim"), Scott's acting, the camera flashbacks and the music made me lean very close to the screen. As Van Dorn showed his little girl's picture to Jim, who thereupon throws a tantrum ("That BI***, do I have to act with HER? She made my c*** so...") I found myself very happy to watch Van Dorn beat the stuffing out of Jim with the table lamp.

And the quote? Van Dorn's, in George C. Scott's comforting, whiskey-cured voice as he prepares to shove Jim into a cold shower for some interrogation:

"CHEER UP, YOU'RE NOT DEAD!"

R. I. P. Mr. Scott.

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8 out of 11 people found the following review useful:
Both Sides of the Moral and Immoral, 26 June 2007

Author: bkoganbing from Buffalo, New York

Hardcore is the mirror image of Boogie Nights. Whereas Boogie Nights the pornography industry is seen from the participant's point of view, Hardcore shows it from the outside. It's not a pretty picture.

Though the film itself doesn't come off in many ways, no question that George C. Scott's performance in the lead is strong dynamic stuff. He's a Midwest businessman of conservative values from Grand Rapids, Michigan whose daughter runs off during a church youth convention out in Southern California.

It would have been very easy to have made Scott's character something of ridicule. This was right around the time of the founding of the Moral Majority and Scott's church seems just the kind to have signed up for that. Instead Scott creates a sympathetic and totally believable character as the father who dominates the film.

In order to accomplish his mission he has to invade a world he hasn't a clue about, but he proves surprisingly resourceful.

Also look for a good performance by Peter Boyle as a private detective who operates on both sides of the moral and immoral.

Hardcore is not a great film, but it's a great performance by George C. Scott.

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10 out of 15 people found the following review useful:
General Patton in Pornoland..., 27 June 2004

Author: Coventry from the Draconian Swamp of Unholy Souls

I'm not a big fan of Paul Schrader, but I really dug this film! Personally, I think `Hardcore' is Schrader's best film, as it successfully mixes effective social drama with compelling tension. George C. Scott is truly magnificent as the hardworking, Midwesterner Jake Van Dorn who individually searches for his lost preteen daughter. At first, he cooperates with a private-detective (a very convincing Peter Boyle) who discovers that his offspring is now active in the hardcore porn-industry. Later, Van Dorn forms a partnership with a poor whore who brings him into contact with the right persons in the business. The first hour of this film is really good and works on many levels. Not only does Schrader mixes different social mentalities and religious convictions, he also gives a perfect portrayal of how someone is driven to complete distraction. The sequences in which Van Dorn witnesses his own flesh and blood feature in a sexfilm are truly intense and vindictive. Of course, the pornography shown isn't real (or even explicit) but you can easily imagine what a father's reaction would be. And please keep in mind that the film is now 25 year old and the censorship has changed a lot since then. Unfortunately, Van Dorn's private investigations aren't always credible (Scott dresses up as a stereotypical adult film-director and organises a cast-session) and the ending is rather abrupt and unsatisfying. Nevertheless, `Hardcore' is a dreadfully overlooked film and one of the most efficient thrillers of the late seventies. George C. Scott is truly brilliant and I personally think this was his best period as an actor. A year later, he starred in the unforgettable horror-chiller `The Changeling' and gave away an equally brilliant performance. If you appreciate good thrillers, you have to give `Hardcore' a chance. Highly recommended.

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11 out of 18 people found the following review useful:
Like 88mm only better, 15 March 1999

Author: lib-4 from Florida

After seeing 8 mm I decided to check this out- Scott does a good job of portraying the distraut father who a detective has found showing up in porno flicks. A believable portrait of the lengths a dad will go to save his daughter from what he perceives is a life of depravity. Peter Boyle is a good addition to this- making the world seem real... all its players and the picture given of "the life" is seamy and real- especially how he dumps the girl who helped him find his daughter. One scene that really got to me was when Scott had to watch the scenes with his daughter in the movie- how he squirmed in his seat- revolted but attracted to the lurid details...a movie that uncovers and disturbs

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